In ancient Rome, togas were no laughing matter. They were the fashion must-have for all male citizens, but men hated them: they were heavy, made your left arm as useful as a T. Rex’s, and required a team of highly trained slaves to put on and take off. Also, they were made of wool, which [...]
Read more...
Tags: ancient Rome, College Night, history, Rome, togas, video
9 Comments | | Trackback | Permalink
Opening this week at the Getty Center is Paris: Life & Luxury, which traces the refined activities that took place inside a luxurious Parisian town house of the mid-1700s. On the streets outside such a house, however, occurred one activity a bit less refined: trade in gossip with remarkable parallels to the blogosphere of our [...]
Read more...
Tags: blog, free events, history, lectures, Paris, Paris: Life & Luxury, Robert Darnton
2 Comments | | Trackback | Permalink
When I talk about the importance of sustainability and cultural heritage, most people nod their heads—we’ve all heard the word “sustainable” in terms of the green revolution—but then a second later they usually ask, “Wait, what exactly do you mean?” Sustainable development—meeting the world’s current needs by using what we already have, so that we’re [...]
Read more...
Tags: environment, heritage conservation, history, lectures, public programs, sustainable development
2 Comments | | Trackback | Permalink
Opening a new museum involves many tasks—and deciding what to display isn’t the only one. There’s also the matter of how to feed hungry visitors. When Stephen Garrett became the first director of the Getty Museum after the construction of the Getty Villa, his wife, Jean, quickly assumed the role of director of food services. [...]
Read more...
Tags: food, history, Jean Garrett, recipes, Stephen Garrett, Tea by the Sea
2 Comments | | Trackback | Permalink
When you visit a museum, it’s easy to forget that objects have a story, a journey from where they began to where they are now. Take Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s portrait of the composer Albert Cahen d’Anvers. It’s one of the most beloved paintings in the Getty Museum’s collection. But who wanted Cahen d’Anvers on canvas? And [...]
Read more...
Tags: Edmund de Waal, French art, Getty Museum collection, Getty Perspectives, history, Jewish history, lectures, netsuke, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, provenance
2 Comments | | Trackback | Permalink
One night when I was 10, I sat down to do some homework, reading a speech in my history book. It was just another day, just another assignment. But as I read this speech, I became confused and angry. Every day at school, I recited the Pledge of Allegiance, which promised that we in the [...]
Read more...
Tags: documentary photography, Engaged Observers, history, Leonard Freed, Martin Luther King Jr., photographs
Subscribe to the posts of the Iris